Display ball-point pen



Feb. 19, 1963 w. sHEA DISPLAY BALL-POINT PEN original Filed Jan. .4,1960 FIG. 3

e m@ m m r a a w A ,Z 2 3 WAH Ml Y Y B lll/r l f Unite States Myinvention relates to a ball-point pen provided with a transparent outerbarrel and a protected inner sleeve containing printed or coloredmaterial.

Such pens are desirable for displaying advertising or ornamentationwhich may be inserted under the barrel of the pen where it will bepermanently protected. Printing on the outside of the pen is subject toconstant wear which eventually causes illegibility of the printing.

Hitherto the outer member was split to allow insertion of the displaymaterial between two shoulders forming a pocket on the inner member.This permitted dust to enter the pocket. The various methods of assemblyemployed were cumbersome and expensive. Where the display material wassimply inserted under the barrel, it was free to move and sometimes waslost to view.

When a pocket is formed by grooving, the manufacturing costs are high.Moreover, a grooved part is dicult to mold.

Accordingly, an important object of the invention is to provide aball-point pen which readily lends itself to mass production when madeof plastic material.

Another important object is to provide an inner sleeve supporting thedisplay material in a .ball-point pen which sleeve is secured by aspring and is not free to move Within the pen barrel.

One more object is to provide a pen with a transparent outer barrel anda removable colored inner sleeve both of which are tapered to provide astreamlined construction.

Other objects are to provide a barrel and inner sleeve which can beeasily assembled; which does not require rotation or threading of theparts; which can extend one with the other for the entire length of thebarrel; which may be formed without external seams; and which willprevent the cartridge and spring from being seen through the transparentbarrel.

I accomplished these and other objects and obtain my new results as willbe apparent from the pen described in the following specification,particularly pointed out in the claim, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal, partly sectioned view of a ballpointed penillustrating the invention,

HG. 2 is an outside view of the same, and

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal fragmentary view of a modiiication.

`The invention comprises a transparent outer barrel provided with ashoulder on the inner surface of the same, and an inner sleeve providedlwith means for maintaining the sleeve in position against the barrelshoulder. The parts are assembled by first inserting the sleeve with thedisplay material entirely inside the Ibarrel.

More specically the pen illustrated comprises an internally threaded cap10, an externally threaded barrel 12, a 'ball-pointed cartridge 14, anda spring 16, cooperating with a push button mechanism 18 for protractingand retracting the cartridge. While a pen is illustrated, the inventioncan be attached to or form a part of any device having a tubularconstruction.

Within the barrel 12, -I have provided an inner sleeve member 20 uponwhich the display material is supported.

The inner surface 24 of the barrel, and the surface 26 of the sleeve aresubstantially cylindrical throughout their length, except for theinwardly formed taper at the ends arent ';ri

l 3,077,692 Patented Feb. 19, 1963 ige thereof, which starts at point 28of the barrel and point 30 of the sleeve to form tapered surfaces 32 and33. The tapered surfaces permit streamlining the lower barrel, as at 27.A shoulder 34 on the barrel is formed to act as a stop for end of thesleeve, thus positioning the two pants one inside the other. The opening36 for the point of the cartridge in the barrel, is an extension ofopening 38 of the inner sleeve, which is additionally provided on theinside with a shouldered portion 40 for seating the spring 16. Thespring 16 is compressed between shoulder 40, and a projection 42 of thecartridge, to permit retraction in a known manner, when the push buttonmechanism is released. The spring also maintains the inner sleevesecurely in position within the barrel and prevents dislocation of thedisplay material or exposure of the cartridge and spring during movementthereof.

At the other end of the pen, I prefer to have the inner sleeve 20, forma loose tit along the inner surface 24 of the barrel.

A sheet 46 may Ibe wrapped around the surface 26 of the inner sleeve,which is thereafter inserted into the barrel. The sheet may be decoratedand printed in any desired fashion, and will be visible through thebarrel 12 which should be made of transparent material. The decorationor printing may be directly applied to surface 26 of the sleeve which isusually made with a Contrasting opaque color and is easily replaceable.

As is apparent from the drawing, both the 'barrel and the inner sleevemay each be made in a simple mold, and thus easily mass produced.

lThe inside wall of the barrel between points 28 and 30, instead ofbeing an extension of the tapered surface 32, may be formed as a rightangle shoulder 50, see lFIG. 3, where the parts are similarly numberedwith an a added.

The constructions thus described have the following advantages.

(l) The parts may be easily molded.

(2) The parts are easily -iitted together.

(3) The sleeve containing the display material is on the entire insideof the barrel where it is protected.

(4) The construction is extremely sturdy.

(5) The colored sleeve may Ibe easily changed if desired.

(6) No split sleeves are employed which 'would allow dust to enter.

(7) A minimum number of parts are employed.

(8) No seams are externally required to form the inner pocket.

(9) The spring locks the sleeve in position so that it cannot move, inuse.

(l0) The colored inner sleeve extends for the entire length of thebarrel.

(1l) A standard cartridge is employed.

This is a division of my application Serial Number 147 tiled January 4,1960.

I have thus described my invention, Ibut -I desire it understood that itis not confined to the particular forms or uses vshown and described,the same being merely illustrative, and that the invention may becarried out in other ways without departing from the spirit of myinvention, and therefore -I claim broadly the right to employ allequivalent instrumentalities coming -within the scope of the appendedclaim, and by means of which objects of my invention are obtained andnew results accomplished as it is obvious that the particularembodiments herein shown and described are only some of the many thatcan be employed to obtain these objects and accomplish these results.

l claim:

A writing instrument comprising a Aball-point cartridge, a barrelentirely made of transparent material having a mouth for inserting thecartridge, and an opening through 3 which the cartridge projects; a capengaging and covering the mouth of the Ibarrel having a protract andretract mechanism therein, said barrel having an inner lwall extendingfrom the mouth to the region adjacent the opening and terminating in astop surface; a tubular sleeve `for supporting display materialpositioned within said barrel and engaging the stop surface of thebarrel to accurately position the sleeve within said barrel, said sleeveprovided with a seat on the inner Wall thereof, and a spring engagingthe seat for securing said sleeve at the stop surface to preventdislocation of the sleeve within the barrel and for retracting thecantridge, said cartridge extending through the barrel and sleeve.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

